


One in the Morning

by Itch



Series: Things You Said... [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: 1am talks, Fluff, M/M, im so bad at tagging, smutty in places lmao, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 05:00:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6739105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itch/pseuds/Itch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morgan uses their 'code word' so to speak and it's time for a talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One in the Morning

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt of 'things you said to me at 1am'

Neither could sleep. Sure, it’d been a long case that they were finally home from, and it felt damn good to be curled up in each other’s arms instead of in some thin sheets supplied by the hotel. Reid was curled up on his side facing away from Morgan, one hand tucked under his cheek, the other resting on the back of Morgan’s hand that was place on his stomach. He could feel Morgan’s chest pressed to his back, the steady heartbeat thrumming in such a way he thought he might fall asleep to it. Before settling down like that they'd laid there simply mapping the other out, Morgan tracing the slim line of Reid's ribs and the muscles in his arms. Reid had let his hands wander over the tattoos on Morgan's arm, pressing his palm of the lion's face and smiling.

 “Spence.” Morgan whispered into his shoulder. 

 “Mm.” Reid replied, not wanting to actually speak for fear it would wake him up too much. 

 “I can’t sleep.” 

 “Mmmmmm.” Reid rolled over, pressing his nose against the hollow of Morgan’s throat and breathing in, the scent of his shower gel still clinging to his skin. Morgan nuzzled his nose into Reid’s hair and sighed softly, arms tightening around the slimmer man. 

 “Memphis.” He breathed into Reid’s hair before closing his eyes tightly, arms tightening even further. Reid knew what that meant. He moved them, blinking himself awake and biting back a yawn. He pressed slow and sleepy kisses up the side of Morgan’s neck and along his jaw, each one a little softer than the last. 

 

_ Memphis  _ was their code word, for lack of a better phrase, for when one of them was having a bad time. It came about when Reid was struggling to tell Morgan about his nightmares again. He wanted to, he really did, but he couldn’t find a way of saying it without feeling pathetically stupid and needy. So finally in a hotel room in Memphis he broke down and rattled off all his feelings like a list to Morgan who pulled him close and calmed him down. Since then, all they’d needed to say was Memphis. 

Sometimes it’d been Reid using it, showing up at 3am in the pouring rain with the word already half off his lips, and sometimes he’d said it at word with his top lip making ripples in the coffee he’d just made. Every time he said it Morgan kept an extra eye on him. Though at times Morgan was the one who said it. Reid had heard it said through gritted teeth whilst his fist pressed into the wall, a man behind a one way mirror across the room denying murders of young boys. Reid had received it via text and gone into Morgan’s office to find him dishevelled and panting, unable to calm himself down as waves of panic rolled over him. On occasion their feelings would be voiced, like when Morgan would grip onto Reid and beg him not to leave because he’s not good enough, he’s not strong enough,  _ I can’t protect you Reid and I need you to be safe I can’t lose you Reid.  _ Or it was Reid, curled up with his hands in his hair, sobbing as he rattled off fact after facts about schizophrenia and drug abuse, telling Morgan  _ it’s pretty much inevitable anyway.  _

 

They never  _ needed  _ to speak though. It was a warning in a way. A warning of ‘I’m fragile today’ that they would respect and protect, making sure the meltdown threatening never came. Times like this, when it was one in the morning and Morgan’s demons were sneaking in through the dark, Reid knew how to distract him. 

 “Mmph.” The quiet surprised noise left Morgan as their lips met, warm and soft, moving against one another in a way that only they could. Both had admitted it’d never felt like that with someone else. There had always been something else, something that hadn’t felt quite  _ right  _ but now… 

 “Shh.” Reid whispered, teeth catching on Morgan’s lower lip, hinting at what was to come. 

 “Reid I,” Again he was cut off, this time by Reid giving his lower lip a small tug. At that Morgan let out a breathless moan and gave in, knowing Reid was right. He melted into his partner, their kisses became longer and deeper, punctuated with gasps and whimpers. Morgan’s finger ghosted along Reid’s limbs, pressing into the softer flesh and tugging him closer, Reid gripping onto his arms, waist, hips, anything he can. His back forms an almost delicate arch as Morgan proves, yet again, how skilled he is with his hands, still kissing Reid to drown out every whimper and cry though he can’t help but groan Reid’s name in a broken sort of way as two become one. 

 

It all passed fairly quickly, and when they were done they curled in on one another again, Morgan’s hand carding slowly through Reid’s hair, kissing his forehead and temples. 

 “I love you. Like, you know that right? You know that I love you, and ‘m gonna do everything I can to protect you.” Morgan was just talking now, but if the words he was saying were going to make him feel good enough that he could sleep then Reid would listen. “I wanna tell the team, y’know about us. I want… I want them to know because I’m so proud of you Reid. I’m so proud of who you are, and how far you’ve come. I’m so proud of how smart you are, and how I know that even though you hate using guns you’re such a good shot. And I want them to know how much I love you. That… that if it came to it, I would die for you. I mean, I’d die for everyone on the team, it’s my job in a way, but I would throw myself in from of a bus walking to the cinema for you and it scares me in a way. It scares me ‘cause I’ve never loved someone like that, or have someone love me in that way.” Reid made a soft snuffling noise, kissing Morgan’s shoulder and tucking himself a little closer. 

 “Then we tell them, I can’t see any reason not to. I’m proud of you too you know. You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for, and even though you seem to have a perpetual hate against doors you’re one of the smartest people I know.”

 “Really?” Reid could hear the disbelief in Morgan’s voice and he propped himself up on one elbow, resting a hand on Morgan’s hip.

 “Mhm. You’ve got street smarts. People smarts. You’re a lot smarter than me in certain areas of life and I really appreciate it when you try to teach me them.” He smiled softly at Morgan who just shook his head good naturedly, tugging Reid down against his chest. 

 “Whatever you say pretty boy.” 

Reid fell asleep shortly over, the calming feeling of Morgan’s heartbeat against his cheek and his fingers dancing up and down his spine making it the best sleep he’d had in weeks.


End file.
